Broken Boundaries
by Anasazi Darkmoon
Summary: HIATUS UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE. A rewrite of my first fic. A near lethal encounter with a monster she's never seen before sends Ria on a quest to solve the mystery of why her world and her rescuer's have collided.
1. The Stranger

**Author's Note:** After much deliberation, I decided that my very first fic really needed polishing, so I decided to rewrite it, this time with the help of my ever-wonderful beta, LadyMercy. Hopefully, everyone who read the original will like this one just as much, and those coming to it the first time will enjoy it as well. As you all already know, Final Fantasy X and all characters affiliated with said game are propery of Square-Enix. I do not own them, no matter how much I wish I did.

Chapter One: The Stranger

Ria Summers stepped out into the humid night air, inhaling the scent of a nearing storm before turning to lock up the Gas-N-Go for the evening. It had been a long day and she was more than ready to go home, but first, she needed to take out the store's garbage. She hauled the heavy plastic bag to the huge metal dumpster behind the store, keeping an eye open for any weirdoes that might be lurking in the shadows. Seeing none, she completed her task, and then paused as she noticed a peculiar smell overtaking the smell of garbage and rain. It smelled of cinnamon and patchouli, and for some reason, strongly reminded Ria of a funeral home, but she ignored it and let the lid of the dumpster slam shut.

She turned and headed back to her car, digging her keys out of her pocket as she went, but froze in her tracks when she heard a strange hissing shriek ring out behind her. Ria slowly turned around, terror lying as a cold weight in her gut, and yelped when she saw what scuttled from behind the dumpster. It looked like an enormous insect, easily her size, with a large barb sprouting from its back and huge bladelike claws folded back against its legs. It inched closer, hissing again, and she tried not to throw up as she got a good look at its face. Whatever this monster was, it was definitely born to kill, as mandibles filled with razor-sharp teeth took up most of its head.

When the creature hissed a third time, Ria bolted, hoping against hope that she could reach her car before it could catch her. The maroon Grand Am was a hundred feet away, but it might as well have been a hundred miles, as it seemed like it took a hellish eternity to reach it. The terrified woman was almost there, when out of nowhere, something shoved her to the pavement, which caused her to fling her keys under her car. Ria screamed and shut her eyes, fully expecting to feel the monster's talons pierce her flesh at any moment. Instead, she heard a loud chopping sound and an inhuman scream of agony.

She opened her eyes, rolled over onto her back, and gaped in complete amazement at what she saw. Interposed between her and the beast was a powerfully built dark-haired man in a red coat, who wielded a massive katana in his gloved right hand as if it weighed almost nothing. He did not look at her, but kept his gaze trained on the monster, which now sported a bloody stump in place of its left foreleg. "I'm afraid this hunt is over," her rescuer said impassively.

Shrieking in response, the insect launched itself the swordsman, dark green ichor pouring out of the remnants of its left leg as it lashed out with its right one. Without turning a hair, the stranger brought his sword down on the monster's head, the heavy blade shearing through its carapace like cardboard. Mortally wounded, the bug fell to the pavement, thrashed once, and then died with a sigh. Strangely, once the thrashing stopped, the creature disintegrated, changing into a cloud of glowing rainbow lights that wheeled and pulsed in time to a music only they could hear.

As Ria watched them, however, they suddenly stopped moving and changed from their rainbow hue to a poisonous black surrounded by a bloody red aura. The transformed lights floated in place for a moment, oozing cold hatred into the air around them, but then changed back before disappearing, leaving the bloodstains and strange smell behind. Shocked by the events, Ria blankly stared at the green stains on the pavement, until her rescuer caught her attention by turning to face her. "Are you okay?" he asked, offering her a hand.

Without thinking, she took it, and he helped her to her feet. "I…I think so," she replied, shakily dusting herself off. "W-what was that thing, anyway?"

"A fiend," the swordsman said matter-of-factly. "A Xiphos, to be precise."

"Right…" Ria thought the man must be slightly crazy, but did not say so. Instead, she chose to study her savior. The silver streaks in his otherwise dark hair proclaimed him to be at least in his thirties, while scar sealing his right eye showed that he had seen plenty of battles. Realizing that she was rudely staring at the man, Ria flushed, and then coughed to cover her embarrassment. "Who are you?" she asked, wincing even as she said it. _"Way to go, Ria! Don't bother thanking the man who just _saved your life_, just demand to know who he is!"_

Instead of becoming offended, however, the swordsman chuckled, apparently amused by her audacity. "My name is Auron."


	2. A Disturbing Turn of Events

Chapter 2: A Disturbing Turn of Events

Despite his calm, unruffled appearance, Auron felt quite confused by what just happened. One moment, he was in the Farplane, and the next, he was pushing a strange girl to the ground before a Xiphos cut her to ribbons. Now that the fight was over, he paused to take a good look at the person he just rescued. Tall and pale, with curly red hair and green eyes, she definitely wasn't a fighter, but he wasn't sure what else she could be. "Excuse me, Auron, but you're hurt," Ria said, touching his left arm and startling him out of his reverie.

Auron looked down at his arm and saw a deep gash that came to a stop above the silver bracer he wore. "I didn't think it had hit me that hard," he muttered to himself. When the young woman tried to lead him away, he snatched his arm out of her grip and snapped, "What do you think you're doing?"

"I'm trying to _help_ you!" Ria shot back, her temper flaring slightly. "You need to have a doctor look at that cut." She pointed at it, and then added, "See? It's already starting to turn green."

Surely enough, the area around the wound was a sickly shade of yellow-green, and Auron let out a hiss of pain as a wave of fire lanced up his arm. "Poison…" he growled, clenching his teeth as a second burst of pain followed the first one.

_"Poison? Oh God, that can't be good!"_ Ria swallowed the panic rising in her throat, and then asked, "Is there something I can do to help?"

Auron stared at her, not sure he believed what he heard. "You really want to help?" When she nodded, he said, "Look over where the fiend was, and see if you can find a small green ball."

Ria did as told, and not a minute later, she held up her prize. Its surface was slightly squishy, almost like a membrane. "What is this, anyway?" she asked, handing it to him.

"The antidote," Auron shakily replied.

With that, he punctured the sphere with his thumb and slathered the contents across the wound. Almost immediately, the sickly tinge in his skin vanished, leaving a clean gash behind. Amazed, Ria blinked at him, but then said, "What are you going to do about that cut, though?"

Instead of answering, the swordsman reached inside his coat and pulled out a small vial of glowing sky blue liquid, pulled the cap off, and downed the contents as fast as he could. Slowly, the edges of the wound knitted together, until nothing but an angry pink weal remained. "There," he said, satisfied with the results. "It should be fully healed by tomorrow." Then he looked up, saw Ria's thunderstruck expression, and asked, "You've never seen a Potion at work before?"

"No! I thought stuff like that only existed in fairy tales!"

Auron snorted with amusement, and then turned and walked away. "Wait!" Ria called, mentally kicking herself as she did so. _"You're out of your damn mind, girl!"_

"What is it?" the swordsman replied, turning around.

"I…I have a proposition for you."

Auron blinked at her, not sure he'd heard her right. "You don't have to do that," he said, flushing visibly in the darkness.

_"What in the world is he blushing about?"_ Ria wondered. Then it hit her like a bolt of lightning. "Oh God, I didn't mean it like _that_!" she exclaimed, her own face turning a lush crimson. "I just wanted to know if you'd be willing to play bodyguard in exchange for a place to stay!"

"And you trust me, just like that?" he asked, skepticism quite evident in his tone.

"Well…you _did_ save my life, after all," she replied. "Besides, if you wanted me dead, you could've just let that bug-thing take care of that, and it's not like you have anywhere else to go, do you?"

This was true, but it did not make it less annoying. Neither did the fact that it just started raining. Finally, a flash of lightning lit up the skies overhead, and thunder ripped through the air almost immediately after. "Very well," Auron sighed, "I accept your offer…" He paused, and then said, "You haven't told me your name yet."

"Whoops!" she sheepishly replied. "Sorry about that. My name is Ria."

…

A little while later, the two of them arrived at her house and hurried inside to escape the pouring rain. "This is your home?" Auron asked, looking around the living room without bothering to hide his fascination.

"Yeah," Ria replied, tossing her keys onto the coffee table. "Well…actually, my mom, brother, and sister live here, too, but they're off visiting my grandmother in Panama City." She paused as her stomach let out an embarrassing growl. "Uh…I guess running from monsters works up an appetite," she giggled. "Well, since I'm in the mood for it, would you like something to eat?"

He did not answer, so she took it as assent, and disappeared into the kitchen. Ria emerged a few minutes later with a couple of sandwiches, handed one to him, and then sat down on the couch. "I don't bite, you know," she said, patting the seat next to her.

Auron smiled slightly, but said nothing as he sat down. The two of them ate in silence, and once they were finished, Ria picked up the remote control and turned the on the television. When her companion didn't show any signs of surprise, she shot him a sidelong look, and said, "What? You have TV's in outer space or wherever it is you're from?"

"Something similar, yes," he replied.

Just then, the evening news began, and immediately went to a live broadcast about strange monster attacks. After watching a video of a purple Sasquatch running amok in Times Square, Ria changed the channel, only to find more monster videos in various other places. From flying eyeballs in Idaho to rampaging lizards in Turkey, the creatures appeared on every channel, and finally, Ria, noticing Auron's disturbed expression, quickly turned off the television. "So I take it you know something about those, too, then?" she asked.

Auron nodded, and said, "They are also fiends."

"More of them?" she incredulously replied. "Where are they all coming from, and why do you know so much about them?"

"It's a long story," he said.

"Well, I'm not going anywhere else tonight, so why don't you start at the beginning?"

"Very well. I was born in a world called Spira; a place ravaged a plague called Sin…"

…

A couple of hours later, Auron finished his story and Ria had to fight to keep her jaw from hanging open. If she hadn't seen one of the monsters from his tale up close, she would never have believed him. _"Hell, I'm more than willing to believe that this is all a really vivid dream, except that I'm still banged up from earlier."_ Ria shook her head once, as if to clear it, and then said, "So all these monsters running around are actually the souls of the dead?"

Auron shook his head. "Not all of them. Most are actually wild animals and cannot be sent to the Farplane."

"Wait a minute! You said that you were an unsent for ten years, so why didn't you turn into a monster?"

"I had that choice…but I had made a promise to Braska and Jecht that I would find a way to stop the cycle of death. Even if I had not, I still couldn't bear to lose myself and allow more people to die a needless death."

_"Heh…from what I've seen in just the past few hours, he doesn't seem like the type to willingly give up control,"_ Ria thought to herself. Then she quickly banished the thought as another occurred to her. "So this Farplane place is where the dead go in your world, and you were sent at the end of your journey, right?"

"Yes," Auron nodded.

"We don't have a place like that here, though, so does that mean you're alive again, or what?"

"I really don't know," he told her truthfully.

After that, they slipped into a rather uncomfortable silence, until Ria got to her feet and left, only to return a few moments later with a pillow and a quilt. "I'm afraid we don't have a guest room, so you'll have to sleep on the couch," she told him, flushing slightly as she handed him the bedding.

"It's fine," he told her. "I take it you are going to bed now?"

"Actually, I'm going to take a shower first, so no peeking, please!" she replied with a grin.

Auron chuckled in spite of himself, and then wrapped himself in the blanket and rolled over. Ria started to walk away again, but paused, and said, "Auron?"

"Yes?"

"I know I didn't say this earlier, but…thank you."

The swordsman didn't say anything at first, leading her to believe that he had fallen asleep on her. Just as she started to turn around again, however, he said, "You're welcome, Ria."

…

A little while later, after her shower, Ria put on a pair of pajamas and crawled into bed, numb and exhausted from the night's events. She knew she should have freaked out at least a little, but couldn't really bring herself to care too much. As she lay in the bed, waiting for sleep to come, her thoughts rolled around her head like the waves of the ocean. _"I was attacked by a monster and haven't gone into hysterics yet? Knowing my luck, it'll all manifest in the form of nightmares."_ She rolled over onto her side and yawned as her thoughts turned to her unusual savior. _"And what is up with Auron? He doesn't know if he's alive or dead, and now that I think about it, he has the same spicy smell as that Zippy-thing…only fainter…"_ Before she could think any further on the subject, sleep claimed her.


	3. Spellslinger

Author's Note: Sorry it took so long, but trying to find a new job tends to eat up one's time. Enjoy the new chapter!

Chapter 3: Spellslinger

…_Flash…_

Ria swept up the last bit of dirt from the tile floor of the Gas-N-Go, before emptying the dustpan and putting both it and the broom away. She returned to her place behind the counter and started counting the cigarettes, when she heard the doorbell jangle. Turning around, the young woman felt the blood drain from her face as she stared down the barrel of a gun held by a man in a black ski mask. Her heart pounding wildly, Ria quickly opened the cash register and took all the cash out, hoping the robber would be satisfied, but he made no move to take the money. _"Oh God, why won't he just leave?"_ she silently cried as tears started to slip down her face.

Suddenly, the thief raised his free hand to his face, and with one quick jerk, pulled the mask off, revealing the hideous face of the Xiphos! Ria opened her mouth to scream, only to choke as the monster dropped his gun, reached across the counter, wrapped its hands around her throat and squeezed…

…_Flash…_

Auron stood in the eerie starscape of Yunalesca's chamber, grief and anger running through his veins like lightning as he stared at the ghostly summoner. "They died because they had hope," she told him, as if he was a small child.

The rage in his heart broke free, and he charged toward her, a scream tearing its way out of his throat as he attacked. Before his assault could reach her, however, Yunalesca struck him with a powerful bolt of magic, flinging him backward through the air several feet before he crashed to the ground in a boneless heap…

…_Flash…_

Auron suddenly awoke to a loud ringing sound coming from somewhere near his head. He quickly sat up, briefly confused by his unfamiliar surroundings, when he remembered last night's events. The ringing sound suddenly started up again, and the guardian finally noticed the cordless phone lying on the small table next to the couch. It rang a third time, so he quickly pushed the flashing green button and put the receiver to his ear. "Hello? Is anybody there?" a strange female voice asked.

"Yes?" Auron replied with a note of uncertainty.

"Is Ria there, by any chance?"

"She is," he told the stranger, "May I ask who this is?"

"I'm Marion, Ria's boss," the woman replied. "If she's there, could you please put her on the phone? It's pretty important."

"All right." Auron got up and walked down the hall, opening each door until he found Ria's bedroom, and strode in without bothering to knock. "Your boss wants to talk to you," he said, holding the phone out to her.

Ria did not answer, but continued to toss and turn, moaning quietly as she tried to escape her nightmares. Concerned, Auron came closer and shook her gently. "Ria, wake up!"

The young woman let out a scream, and suddenly, her bed jolted, dumping her out of it and onto Auron, causing the both of them to crash to the floor. "What the…was there just an earthquake?" Ria mumbled sleepily without opening her eyes.

"No, your bed just tossed you out of it," Auron growled from beneath her.

She opened her eyes and realized she was lying across her new bodyguard's stomach. "Oh my god!" she exclaimed, quickly climbing off him. "Auron, are you okay?"

Instead of answering, Auron handed the phone to her and said, "Someone named Marion wants to talk to you."

Ria quickly took the receiver and put it to her ear. "Marion? Are you still there?"

"Yeah," her boss replied in a worried tone. "Is everything okay over there? It sounded like someone was being murdered."

"I was having a nightmare, but Auron snapped me out of it so I'm fine now." Ria paused, and suddenly grew suspicious. "You aren't calling me to get me to work on my day off, are you?"

"No, there's a cop here who wants to talk to you about what happened last night. Apparently, someone reported some screaming."

"Okay, tell him I'll be up there in a few minutes."

Ria hung up the phone and sighed gustily. "She wants you to come back?" Auron asked.

"Yep. A cop wants to talk to me about what happened last night."

"Why?"

"Why wouldn't he?" Ria replied, a note of incredulity in her tone. "Auron, if he's been watching the news at all during the last twelve hours, he'll want to hear everything about that whatchamacallit you killed last night."

Auron chuckled, and then said, "What I meant was why he can't come here to talk to you."

"Well, this house is outside of the city limits, so if any law enforcement came out here to talk to me, it'd be the sheriff's department." Ria paused, pawed through a drawer, and pulled out a blue t-shirt. "Now would you mind giving me some privacy? My family would freak if they thought I was giving out free peep shows while they were away."

…

A few minutes later, Ria and Auron locked up the house, got into her car, and headed to town. After riding halfway there in deafening silence, the young woman realized that her radio was off, so she quickly pushed the power button, and began to sing along with her favorite band.

_I don't think you trust…in…my…_

_Self-righteous suicide_

_I…cry…_

_When angels deserve to die_

As the band switched from singing to screaming again, Ria realized that her passenger might not be used to that sort of music, so she turned the radio off again. "Sorry about that," she sheepishly replied.

"Tidus was fond of that kind of music, too," Auron ruefully replied as he pulled his hands away from his ears.

Silence took over the car again, and Ria began to hum absentmindedly to herself. The song did not have any words that she could remember, but it comforted her despite its haunting melody. "Where did you learn that song?" Auron suddenly demanded, startling her out of her reverie.

"I dunno," she replied. "I've always known it. My mom says that my dad used to sing that all the time before he died. Why? Is there something wrong with it?"

"No. I was just surprised to hear it, that's all."

Before the discussion could continue any further, the two of them arrived at the gas station, and were nearly struck by a large black Escalade as it pulled up to the pumps. "What the hell is wrong with you?" Ria yelled furiously as she got out of her car. "You nearly killed us, you crazy bastard!"

The Escalade's owner, a heavily muscled black man with an expression permanently twisted into a supercilious sneer, got out of his vehicle and glared at Ria. "I'll park wherever I damn well feel like it," he told her, his voice dripping with contempt. "And there's nothing a little piece of white trash like you can do about it!"

Just then, Auron got out of the car, took his sword out of the back seat, hoisted it over his shoulder, and placed himself between Ria and the belligerent stranger. "She doesn't have to do anything," he said, staring the man down.

"And just who the hell are you?" the man demanded.

"I'm her guardian, and I suggest you get back in your machina and leave, before something happens that you'll regret."

The two men continued to glare at one another, neither one moving, while Ria gaped at the both of them in amazement. _"As exciting as this is…this is REALLY not a good idea!"_ she thought in silent panic. _"What the hell am I going to do if they decide to start fighting?"_

Before any violence could break out, however, a tall, slender man in a police uniform walked out of the store and yelled, "You two break it up! I don't know what you both think you're doing, but the world hasn't fallen apart enough for me to not take you downtown!"

The stranger considered that, and finally backed down, muttering curses under his breath as he returned to his vehicle. He opened the door, stopped, and turned to look at Auron. "You'd better learn to watch your mouth, because next time there might not be some cop around here to save your sorry ass!"

"I won't need saving…especially from one like you," Auron replied, smiling coldly.

The stranger blinked in astonishment, then gave the swordsman an obscene gesture as he climbed into his Escalade and left. "Auron…I'm glad you enjoyed that lovely little testosterone festival, but you really need to work on your communication skills," Ria commented, still a little wild-eyed by what just happened. Then, before he could respond, she shook her head, sighed, and said, "Let's go. I think the Po-Po's getting impatient."

The two of them walked to the door, where the police officer stood waiting. "Are you Ria Summers?"

"Yes," she replied.

"My name is Robert Graham, and I'm with the Manson Police Department. Would you and your friend please come inside so I can ask you a few questions?"

Ria and Auron followed the cop inside, stopping at the far side of the counter so that they wouldn't impede any customers, while a short, blonde woman busily filled out paperwork on the other side. _"Marion's trying to pretend she can't hear what's going on,"_ Ria noted.

"Ria, you were the one working here last night around ten, right?" Graham asked, drawing her attention away from her boss.

"Yes…if you call running for your life working, officer."

"Oh? Would you care to elaborate on that?"

Ria quickly told the officer everything that transpired the night before. Once she finished, Graham stared at her intently, as if looking for signs of falsehood. Then he looked up at Auron, then back at Ria, and asked, "You didn't think to call the police after all of that?"

"Yeah, _that_ would have been a great idea!" Ria sarcastically replied. "You would have had me committed if I had called in something like that!"

"So you put your life into the hands of a complete stranger, instead?"

"I'll have you know that Auron is a professional!" she growled, her temper getting the better of her.

"Auron, huh?" Graham turned his attention back to the silent guardian. "Do you have a last name, Mr. Auron Bodyguard?"

"No," the swordsman brusquely replied.

Suddenly, Marion looked up from her paperwork and let out an ear-piercing scream, as something very large and darkly colored landed outside the store…on top of Ria's car. Before Ria could say anything, however, Auron tackled her to the floor as a huge shockwave shattered all the glass in the building. Once the unusual assault stopped, everyone got to their feet as the assailant, a bird the size of a small house, started ripping the roof off the car. "What the hell is that?" Graham shouted, drawing his gun and firing at the mammoth creature.

Each one of the shots he fired hit their mark, but seemed to merely enrage the thing, as it stopped tearing up vehicles and tried to stick its head in the window and eat everyone, instead. Ria and Marion quickly ran to the other side of the store, while Auron and Graham fought to drive off the monstrous bird. The thing backed off, seemingly deterred, but then it let out a terrible shriek that doused everyone with breath foul enough to fell an elephant. His eyes watering from the stench, Graham dropped his guard, and was promptly snatched up and devoured by the bird.

Once it finished its first victim, the fiend stuck its head back through the window, obviously hoping for more tidbits, when Auron stabbed it through the beak with his sword. Unfortunately, blade missed the creature's brain, but managed to pin its mouth shut so that it could not bite anyone else. Screaming with pain, the bird thrashed wildly about, knocking Auron across the store before he could retrieve his weapon. "Oh damn! Auron, are you okay?" Ria yelled, unthinkingly rushing to his aid.

Before the swordsman could answer, the monster stopped its thrashing, and tried to force the rest of its body through the store, instead, until its massive head loomed over the two of them. It couldn't bite anymore, but it could still peck, and its enormous beak was capable of crushing them both. Ria screamed, burying her face in Auron's chest as the bird pecked at them. _"I don't want to die!"_ every nerve in her body cried as she waited for the finishing blow.

Suddenly, the store lurched violently, as if in a small earthquake, and the temperature dropped dramatically, as a cloud of ice exploded around the monster's head. Confused by the strange attack, the bird let out a muffled squawk and backed up, giving Auron enough time to push the suddenly exhausted Ria out of the way. The swordsman quickly got to his feet, darted forward, and managed to free his sword, much to the monster's painful dismay. Before Auron could follow up with another attack, however, the fiend retreated, ripping out most of the front wall as it did so. When the bird finally flew off, Auron turned to Ria, and said, "Why didn't you tell me you are a mage?"

"I…I didn't know," she panted, before fainting.

…

When Ria regained consciousness a few minutes later, the police, the paramedics, and the fire department all arrived, along with several news crews. "Here, drink this" Auron said, handing her a vial of bright purple liquid as she sat up.

"What is it?" she asked, eyeing the bottle dubiously.

"It's Ether. It will restore your magical stamina," he explained.

Ria gulped the strange stuff down, and then made a face. "Holy crap, that stuff is _nasty_!" She looked around the ruins of the store, got to her feet, and said, "Wow! I don't think this place is reopening any time soon…and that means I'm out of a job. Now what'll I do?"

"I don't know about you people, but I'm getting the hell out of here!" a hysterical Marion shouted at one of the reporters outside, catching Auron and Ria's attention at the same time. "I've had it! It's bad enough having to worry about being robbed, but being attacked by monsters is just too damn much!"

Finally, Ria pulled her attention away from her former boss, looked at Auron, and said, "Do you have any ideas?"

"You definitely need magical training," the guardian replied.

"What?" Ria said blankly, as they picked their way out of the ruins of the store. "Why would I need something like that? This isn't Harry Potter!"

As soon as they got outside, Auron stopped and gave Ria a penetrating look, and replied, "You had a nightmare and shook everything in your house, then you manage to drive off a Zu, and you don't think you need training?"

Ria fidgeted under his glare, and said, "Okay, okay, I see your point…but first, we need to find a way home, because that giant bird completely trashed my car!"


	4. Journey

Chapter Four: Journey

A couple of days after the incident with the giant bird, which Auron called a "Zu", Ria stared out the window at her yard, her thoughts full of worry. "It's been three days since my mom called," she sighed. "And they should have come back by now."

"Your family?" Auron asked.

"Yeah. I'm really worried about them. It's not like any of them to not let me know what's happening…especially with all these monsters running around."

Auron watched Ria pace around the room for about a minute, and then asked, "What will you do now?"

She stopped pacing around and looked at him. "What do you mean 'what will I do'? I've tried everything I can think of, but neither my grandmother nor the hotel will answer the phone, and the police over there are just as busy chasing monsters as the ones here. I'd try going to look for them myself, but in case you forgot, that big-ass bird busted my car all to hell, so I have no way of getting to Panama City!"

"We could walk," Auron suggested, quirking an eyebrow.

"Walk? That would take at least a week!"

The swordsman shrugged, "I've walked farther, and since your store was destroyed, you really don't have anything keeping you here."

"That's true," she said, getting to her feet. "Give me some time to pack up some essentials, and we can leave in the morning."

…

The next morning, Ria and Auron locked up the house and started on their journey. Beforehand, Ria changed into a pair of blue jeans, a t-shirt, and some sensible walking shoes, and stole her brother's metal baseball bat to use as a weapon. As they walked down the road, Ria experimentally hefted her weapon, much to Auron's amusement. "I hope you know how to use that," he said, watching her swing the bat.

"It's not _that_ hard to figure out, Mr. Wields-a-Steel-Beam!" Ria replied, rolling her eyes.

It took a couple of days, but the two of them managed to reach Mobile, Alabama, and it was then that they learned that the bridge crossing the bay was destroyed. "Well, isn't this just _wonderful_!" Ria groaned, looking up at the sky in exasperation. "What do we do now?"

"We can go around," Auron answered, turning and walking away.

"That was a rhetorical question, Auron!" she retorted, shaking her head as she hurried to catch up to him.

After some backtracking, the two of them managed to get north of the city, where they found a place to set up camp just as the sun set. They started a small fire and sat in silence for a while, until Auron finally broke the silence. "Ria, we need to talk," he said, watching her poke the flames with a branch.

"About what?"

"Your powers. You said that our fight with the Zu was your first experience with magic, am I right?"

Ria nodded. "Yes, and if you'll recall, it's because people here on Earth generally don't have crazy powers."

"Maybe they don't, but you do, and you will need training, otherwise they will be a danger to everyone around you."

"Yes, you said that the other day," she irritably replied. "What you didn't say was who, exactly, is supposed to train me."

"I will," Auron said, getting to his feet and looking down at her. "I can tell you the basics of what you need to know, until we can find a Black Mage to train you. So…shall we get started?"

Ria looked up at him, and sighed, "Personally, I think you're crazy, but yeah, we can try this if it'll make you happy."

…

Some time later, Ria, having made little progress and now drenched in sweat, flopped back to the ground, and groaned, "Auron, I don't think this is working!"

"Try it again," he replied, giving her a grim stare.

"Try what? Lighting the woods on fire, or maybe summoning a geyser? I don't know what I'm doing! I can feel the energy pouring out, but I can't figure out how to make it do what I want! Why don't you tell me how to do that?"

"I cannot…" Auron quietly replied, suddenly looking away from her.

"Why?"

"Because…" he cleared his throat and blushed slightly. "I don't have magic."

"What?" Ria stared at him in amazement. _"And here I was, thinking he could do anything. It must really irk him to know that there's something he can't do."_

"They tested me for magic when I was a child, but I had none," Auron continued. "I can channel elemental power into my sword, but I can't cast any spells."

Before the conversation could go any further, however, a high-pitched warbling sound rang through the night, startling the two of them. "What was that?" Ria whispered, looking around nervously.

Instead of answering, Auron put out the fire, picked up his sword, and motioned for her to follow him. She followed him through the underbrush, until they came upon a clearing, which was full of large birds milling about in the moonlight. Easily twice the size of an ostrich, the birds turned to look at Auron and Ria with curiosity, but no real fear. "What are they?" Ria asked, not taking her eyes off the birds.

"Chocobos," Auron replied, amused at her amazement. "On Spira, we ride them when we need to move quickly."

"Like horses?"

"What are those?"

"Never mind," Ria said. "Anyway, do they normally come in all those colors?"

Most of the members of the chocobo flock had sunny yellow feathers, but several others were blue, red, and purple, and even included a silvery white one, and shadowy black one. "No," Auron answered, quite confused. "Chocobos on Spira only have yellow feathers…something must have changed these."

Before they could ponder the situation, however, a bellowing roar pierced the night, and sent all of the chocobos into a panic. The source of the roar appeared on the other side of the clearing, revealing a huge fiend with stubby legs, gangly arms, and a torso consisting almost entirely of a gaping mouth full of razor sharp teeth. It roared again, leapt forward with considerable speed, despite its massive size, and pinned the black chocobo to the ground. "What the hell is that?" Ria screamed as the trapped bird screeched in terror.

"A Chocobo Eater," Auron replied, drawing his sword and advancing on the fiend.

The beast noticed the swordsman just as he swung at its head, and it released its prey in surprise. The terrified bird quickly got to its feet and ran away, as Auron channeled energy into his sword and lashed out at the Chocobo Eater. Red flames erupted where Auron struck the beast, and it let out a howl of pain, and then promptly decked the swordsman with a fearsome right hook. The reprieve did not last long, however, as Ria had gathered her courage and waded into the battle. "You leave those birds alone, you creepy bastard!" she yelled, striking the beast on the snout as she swung her baseball bat with furious abandon.

The Chocobo Eater howled again and tried to step back, but tripped on a fallen log it had leapt when it first began its assault, and fell on its back. Thinking it was unable to fight back, Ria quickly advanced on the fiend, but before she could renew her assault, Auron grabbed her arm and pulled her back, just as large spire of ice erupted from the ground where she once stood. Before it could cast another spell, however, a silver aura appeared around Ria as she retaliated with one of her own. The wind in the immediate area picked up, swirling into a massive vortex that lifted the fiend into the air, and then died, letting it drop to the ground. With a sickening crack, the armored scales on the beast's back shattered, causing it to scream in pain and rage as it rolled to its feet and charged at Ria, who struggled to stay upright after the release of her spell. _"Oh, this is really going to suck!"_ she thought, flinching away from the incoming blow.

Before it could land, however, Auron stepped between the two of them and buried his katana to the hilt in its skull. With one last sigh, the Chocobo Eater dropped to the ground and disintegrated, its pyreflies changing to their strange red and black hue as they faded away. Unlike the Xiphos, however, these pyreflies did not change back to normal before vanishing. Auron turned around to face Ria, and possibly bite her head off for endangering herself, only to find her collapsed on the ground, having once again fainted from overexerting her magic.

…

The next morning, Ria woke up and looked around, briefly confused by her surroundings. "Did you sleep well?" Auron asked, startling her.

"What happened?" she asked, realizing how exhausted she felt. "All I remember is that weird monster attacking those birds."

"You cast a powerful spell and it drained all of your energy," he explained.

"Will it ever get any better? It had better, because I won't be very helpful if I keep blacking out."

"It will. Your body isn't used to spell-casting yet. That's why you tire out so quickly."

Ria nodded silently and then said, "Auron, can I ask you a question?"

"Go ahead."

"Why do those pyrefly-things keep changing into those awful colors? Is that normal?"

He paused for a long moment, and then replied, "I really don't know. I've never seen anything like it." Then, without warning, he changed the subject, and said, "It looks like you've made a friend, Ria."

Before Ria could ask him to explain, something butted against her shoulder, startling her. She quickly turned around and found herself face-to-beak with the white chocobo. "Wark!" it chirped, gratitude apparent in its intelligent blue eyes.

Carefully, she reached out and petted the chocobo's beak, and turned her attention back to Auron, who was now awkwardly petting the black chocobo with a highly disturbed expression on his face, as if he wasn't quite sure the bird would not bite him. "Auron, are you okay?" Ria asked, a note of concern coloring her voice.

Suddenly embarrassed, Auron stopped petting the bird and looked up at Ria. "Yes," he sharply replied.

"Hey, it's okay if you aren't," Ria said, slightly offended at his tone. "I mean, from what you told me, you've been through a lot, even before you came to this world. Anyone with a shred of sanity would be at least a little freaked out." _"And it's not going to kill you to show a little affection, even if it _is_ just a bird."_

Auron opened his mouth to reply, but then closed it again. _"She's right,"_ he realized, mentally kicking himself. _"I am 'freaked out'. Somehow, I left the Farplane, and ended up in another world entirely…and I am now guarding a fledgling mage with very little control over her powers. Not only that…fiends and animals from Spira are appearing in this world, and the few pyreflies that I have seen are behaving strangely. None of this is a coincidence, I'm sure."_

"Hey! Earth to Auron!" Ria shouted, tapping him on the shoulder. "Are you still with me?"

Auron snapped out of his reverie, and quickly recognized the worried tone of Ria's voice. "Don't worry, I'm not going to vanish," he replied with a faint smile. "I was just…thinking."

Astonished, Ria fought to keep from gaping. _"What the hell? He's actually smiling? He must be sick, or something!"_ "I imagine you have a lot to think about," she said, still a little awed by the rare smile. "I know you're not the easiest guy to get along with, but you've saved me from becoming monster-bait twice now, _and_ you've been trying to help me with this crazy magic stuff. Most other people would've run off by now, you know?"

Before Auron could reply, the black chocobo chirped loudly, and butted his head against the swordsman's shoulder, clearly wanting to be petted. "At least we can travel faster, now," he said, petting the black chocobo again, this time with less uncertainty.

Finally, the two chocobos had their fill of affection, stood upright, and chirped loudly, clearly ready to go. Unwilling to argue, Auron and Ria quickly gathered their things, mounted the birds, and resumed their traveling. As they rode, however, Ria thought to herself, _"I wonder what other unusual things we'll encounter on this trip…"_


	5. Discovery

**Author's Note:** Sorry it has taken so long to update, but I've been sort of trapped in the Transformers fandom. Of course, I have no intention of giving up on this, or _The Makings of a Hero_, but they've both ended up on the back burner, at least until I can get _Discovered by the Roadside_ out of the way. Anyway, I hope you all enjoy the chapter.

* * *

Chapter 5: Discovery

The sign at the entrance to the little town read "Welcome to Discovery", and Ria felt that it was some kind of omen, but whether one of hope or doom, she could not say. She started to say something to that effect, when she noticed Auron staring at the sign's flowery script with a slightly bewildered look on his face. "Hey, what's the matter with you?" she asked, trying to turn without overbalancing and falling off her chocobo.

Auron pointed at the sign. "What does it say?" he wanted to know.

"You can't read it?" Ria fought to keep from gaping at him. "I didn't know you couldn't read."

"I can read…in Spiran," he testily replied.

Ria winced. "Sorry, I didn't even think about that." _"Of course he can't read Earth writing…he's not from Earth!"_ She shook off the thought and said, "Anyway, it says 'welcome to Discovery'. It's basically just a sign welcoming visitors to town."

…

As Auron and Ria rode through the town, they noticed how nervous everyone was acting, and they noticed the suspicious glances in their direction. Ria tried to ignore it, but Auron quickly grew tired of it and reined in his chocobo. "What is everyone's problem?" he irritably demanded after he dismounted his bird.

"Auron, are you out of your mind?" Ria hissed, pulling her chocobo to a stop next to his and quickly dismounting. "These people have guns! You _do_ know what a gun is, don't you?"

Auron did not look at her, but kept glaring balefully at the frightened townsfolk. "Yes, I do know what a gun is, Ria," he answered, continuing to glower. "And I would appreciate it if you wouldn't question my sanity."

Fortunately, no one opened fire on either of them. Instead, a wizened old man with a rifle in his hands approached them warily, and asked, "You two aren't with those weird monsters that have been popping up everywhere, are you?"

"No!" Ria cried, appalled at such an assumption. "Actually, my grim-faced friend and I have been fighting what monsters we've come across, so maybe we can help you."

"Oh, thank God!" the old man replied, relieved. He then turned back to the townsfolk, and shouted, "They're not monsters! They're here to help us!"

Suddenly, the chocobos let out a squawk of warning, and their feathers flattened in alarm as a swarm of the poisonous pyreflies appeared, transforming into a trio of red and blue mottled lizards, which hissed angrily and surged forward to attack. Auron and Ria both reached for their weapons, but before they could do anything, the townsfolk quickly turned on the fiends. The battle ended quickly, with all three lizards dead of multiple gunshot wounds before they faded back into the pyreflies that spawned them. "It looks like you don't need our help, after all," Auron commented, amusement warring with astonishment.

"Those things aren't our problem," the old man replied, shaking his head. "Those were just small fry. Our real problem is the dragon."

"Wait a minute…did you just say _dragon_?" Ria asked, her eyes wide amazement. "You're kidding, right?"

"I wish I was," the old man sadly replied. "But for the past few days, this big-ass red dragon's been showing up and wrecking the town. We've tried fighting it ourselves, but bullets just piss it off, and a lot of our people have been hurt or killed."

"Do you know where its lair is?" Auron asked, his expression thoughtful.

"No. Everyone that's gone looking for it has ended up as dragon-food. If you wait a couple of hours, though, you can fight it then."

"How do you know it's going to show up?" Ria asked.

The old man turned to look at her. "The stupid thing's got a pattern. It shows up at the same time everyday, wrecks a lot of stuff if it can't catch anyone, and then leaves after an hour or so. If you really want to fight it, then you won't have to wait long."

Auron nodded, and said, "Very well, but first, we need some supplies, preferably healing items, if you have any."

Ria fought the urge to smack her forehead. _"He's not going to know what the hell you're talking about, Auron!"_

The old man's eyes narrowed suspiciously. "We don't have any drugs, if that's what you're talking about."

Before Auron could answer, one of the townsfolk, a skinny blond man who appeared to be in his mid-twenties, spoke up. "Hank, I think he's talking about that weird stuff in that foreign guy's shop."

Hank's eyes lit up in realization, and he said, "Hey, that's right! I forgot about them."

"Who are you talking about?" Ria wanted to know.

"This strange guy and his old lady showed up around the same time the monsters did, and they set up shop in one of the abandoned buildings up the road from here. They don't fight the monsters themselves, but they've got some good medicines, if that's what you're looking for. I'll warn you, though: they only take the weird stuff the dead monsters leave behind as payment."

"Did they say where they came from?" Auron asked.

Hank nodded. "They said they were 'All Beds', or something like that, and they always wear goggles and have these weird accents."

"Take us to them," Auron said.

"Please," Ria added, not wanting to seem rude.

…

A few minutes later, Hank led the two of them and their chocobos to what appeared to be an old antique shop and pointed at the door. "There's the shop. Now we're all going to get ready for the dragon, so this is where we part ways."

"Don't worry," Ria told him. "We'll take care of it."

"Confident, aren't we?" Auron smirked as they entered the shop.

Before Ria could reply, an orange-haired man in an odd-looking blue and yellow jumpsuit and goggles greeted them. "How may I help you?" he asked politely.

Auron said, "My Al Bhed is a little rusty, but…" Then he began to speak haltingly in a language Ria had never heard before.

"E haat cusa cibbmeac vun y pyddma," Auron said, much to the shopkeeper's surprise. (I need some supplies for a battle.)

"Famm, E hajan druikrt E fuimt caa cusauha amca vnus Spira ynuiht rana," the shopkeeper replied, although with greater fluency. "Fryd ec ouin hysa, pnudran?" (Well, I never thought I would see someone else from Spira around here. What is your name, brother?)

"Auron, yht ouinc?" Auron replied, after pausing to translate. (Auron, and yours?)

"E ys Bakkuri, yht so feva, Keyya, ec eh dra pylg." He paused, and peered closely at Auron. "Rao, oui yna dra guardian uv Lady Yuna, yna oui hud?" (I am Bakkuri, and my wife, Keyya, is in the back. Hey, you are the guardian of Lady Yuna, are you not?)

"Oac, pid hof E ys ranc," Auron said, nodding toward Ria. (Yes, but now I am hers.)

"Hello, my lady," Bakkuri said, greeting Ria with a little bow. "I am Bakkuri, owner of this little shop."

"I'm Ria," the sorceress replied with a smile. "And thank you for switching to a language I understand."

Bakkuri burst out laughing, and said, "Sir Auron, your summoner is very spirited, isn't she?"

"More like contrary," Auron muttered.

"Contrary, huh?" Ria hissed, barely suppressing the urge to smack her guardian. "Well _excuse_ me! Most people would appreciate a woman with a brain and an opinion, but it looks like you're not one of them, are you, Sir Auron?"

Without waiting for a response, she stormed out of the building, leaving Auron alone with Bakkuri. "Fuf, ouin summoner ryc y jano pyt dasban, rir?" the Al Bhed commented in his native language. (Wow, your summoner has a very bad temper, huh?)

"Apparently," Auron sighed. "And she's actually a Black Mage, not a summoner. Anyway, do you sell Potions and Ethers here?"

Bakkuri nodded. "There aren't any magic-users around here, so I can sell you as many Ethers as you want, but I'm running rather low on Potions."

"Just sell me whatever you can."

…

After Auron paid for his items and left the shop, he found Ria outside, taking care of the chocobos. Did you find some Potions or whatever?" Ria asked, not turning around.

Auron recognized the hurt tone in her voice, but before he could respond, both chocobos let out a cry of fear as something huge and red flew overhead. Apparently, the dragon had arrived. It sailed for several yards, and then wheeled around and landed with a heavy thud. Then it exhaled a huge burst of flame, and glared at Auron and Ria as they stared back. The dragon wasn't as large as the ones in stories, but it was still huge, easily the size of a school bus, and covered in gleaming ruby scales and ebony spikes. Its golden eyes flashed with malevolent intelligence as it slowly advanced on it would-be slayers. "So, Auron…do you know how we're supposed to kill this thing?" Ria asked, quickly drawing her bat.

"No," he replied, smiling grimly as he drew his katana. "I've never seen anything like this before."

"Oh, well _that's_ reassuring!" Ria groaned, rolling her eyes as the massive fiend approached.

The dragon roared loudly, sounding much like one of the dinosaurs from "Jurassic Park", and swept its spiked tail around in a fearsome arc. Auron and Ria barely managed to dive out of the way, as it smashed into the pavement where they had been standing, sending shards of asphalt flying everywhere. The two of them then split up, hoping to force the beast to focus on only one target, and quickly began their assault. After some ducking and weaving, Ria managed to get behind the dragon, and brought her bat down on its tail with a loud crack, causing the fiend to scream in pain and pause long enough for Auron to aim a couple of strikes at its head with his sword. Unfortunately, the dragon had managed to recover and evade any mortal blows, and then unleashed another burst of fiery breath, forcing Auron to retreat to avoid being roasted alive.

Once Auron had backed off, the dragon turned around to snap at Ria, who had whacked its tail again, only to catch a blow to its snout. The beast let out a deafening scream of pain and fury, and thrashed about, managing to knock Ria down. Before it could move in for the kill, however, Auron reentered the fray and managed to chop off a rather large piece of the dragon's tail, causing dark purple blood to gush all over the street. As the fiend bellowed in pain, Ria managed to get to her feet and out of its reach, and thought, _"Okay…the bat isn't doing much damage, so let's try some magic, and hope I don't burn down the town."_ Deciding quickly, she closed her eyes, reached for her magic, and yelled, "GO!"

Ria felt her power respond to her call, and was elated by the huge burst of water that shot out of the ground, soaking the dragon and shoving it several paces. Auron took advantage of the crimson beast's distraction and lashed out at it with his katana, managing to strike it across the face. Bloodied and now blind in one eye, the dragon screamed, a loud, echoing shriek that caused both Auron and Ria to abandon attacking the monster in favor of covering their ears. On and on the screeching went, until Ria was positive her head was going to explode from the noise, when the dragon suddenly stopped, flapped its now-glowing wings, and unleashed a huge explosion of fire that sent both swordsman and sorceress sailing backward several yards before landing in a pair of slightly smoking heaps on the pavement. "Okay, that was definitely NOT fun!" Ria muttered as she grabbed her bat and struggled to her feet.

She managed to get up and turn around, just in time to see the fiend snapping furiously at Auron, trying its best to eat him while he resisted just as determinedly. Panicked, Ria rushed forward and whacked the monster on its stump again, causing it to shriek and turn on her with a speed belying its massive size. The fledgling sorceress tried to backpedal to avoid its fiercely snapping jaws, but tripped and fell flat on her backside. Unable to think of any alternative, Ria raised her hands over her head and shouted, "Oh crap, oh crap! Go, magic, go!"

In response to her cry, her power poured out of her in a frigid wave, and a large spire of ice erupted from the road, impaling the dragon through the belly. Unfortunately, the spear did not hit anything vital, because, while the fiend screamed in agony, it did not stop its attempts to reach her. Ria scooted backwards, hoping that the ice would hold the dragon long enough for her to escape. Before it could break free, however, Auron calmly made his way around to the front of the beast, not even flinching as it hissed and snapped at him. The swordsman stared impassively at the trapped fiend for a moment, and when it raised its head to try to breathe fire at him, stabbed his sword into its throat and jerked the blade sideways.

The dragon froze, let out a gurgling cry, and went limp, crashing to the ground as Ria's ice-spire finally faded away. "Is…is it dead?" Ria asked, staring wide-eyed at the creature.

Before Auron could reply, the dragon's corpse vanished into a cloud of pyreflies, which, like their predecessors, turned black and red before fading away. Once they were gone, Auron turned around, helped Ria to her feet, and smirked, "'Go, magic, go'? That's the best you could come up with?" _"Lulu would have had a fit if she heard that."_

"It worked, didn't it?" Ria indignantly replied. "Besides, it's better than 'Abracadabra' or 'Hocus Pocus'."

Suddenly, the sounds of a crowd cheering startled them both, effectively ending the argument. Surprised, Auron and Ria whipped around and found the citizens of Discovery celebrating the defeat of the dragon, as Hank approached them. "You did it!" he crowed ecstatically. "You killed that son of a bitch!"

Ria smiled and blushed, while Auron merely grunted, as if killing dragons was an everyday occurrence for him. "Umm…we're just happy we could help," the sorceress replied, embarrassed to be the center of attention.

Before Hank could reply, a short, dark-haired woman approached them and asked, "How long are you two staying in town?"

"Umm…we haven't really thought about that," Ria sheepishly replied. "We were actually just passing through on our way to Panama City, and just stopped to help."

"Why?" Auron wanted to know.

"Well, it just so happens that I'm the owner of the King's Hotel, and if you need a place to stay for a few days, I'll be happy to let you stay for free." She let out a rueful chuckle. "Besides, once all the monsters started showing up, anyone who didn't already live in town decided to get the hell out of Dodge, so we don't really have any guests at the moment."

"We'd be happy to rest for a little while," Ria replied, "but where would we keep the chocobos?"

"The what?" the woman asked confusedly.

"Sorry…the birds we rode in on. We need food, water, and shelter for them."

"I believe I can help you with that," Bakkuri piped up, pushing his way through the celebrating townsfolk. "Before we ended up on this world, we took care of the rental chocobos on the Mi'ihen Highroad, so we would be more than happy to take care of them for you while you are here in town."

Ria shot the Al Bhed a look of pure gratitude and said, "Thank you, Bakkuri. We really appreciate it."

…

Some time later, after they took care of the accommodations for their chocobos, Ria and Auron looked around their room, which, while very nice, had only one bed. "Ria, we really shouldn't stay here," Auron said, a note of apprehension in his voice.

"I know you don't like it, but it can't be helped," she replied, shooting her guardian a dirty look. "I want to find my family as quickly as possible, but we can't do that if we drop from exhaustion. I mean, those Potions and Ethers work wonders, but they don't change the fact that we've been walking, riding, and sleeping on the ground for over a week. A shower and one night in a comfortable bed isn't going to kill us."

With that, she set down her bat, dug some clothes out of a bag that one of the other citizens had given them, and headed to the bathroom. Once she finished showering, she came back out, dressed in a pale blue t-shirt and some dark grey sweat pants, and said, "All right, it's your turn. I'm going out to see if I can find something for dinner, so hopefully, you'll be done by the time I get back."

…

Ria returned to the room around thirty minutes later, a bag of Chinese takeout in one hand, and said, "Sorry I took so long, but I wanted to stop and check on Snow and Shadow, and I…"

Auron was sitting on the bed, dressed in nothing but a pair of baggy black pants he found in the clothes the townsfolk had given them, and busily repairing the tears in his heavy red overcoat, when he stopped and looked up, noticing that Ria was staring at him. "Is something wrong?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"No…not at all," she vaguely replied, continuing to stare at him blankly. She knew she was just gaping at him like an idiot, but just couldn't find the willpower to care. _"Oh my lord…there's no problem at all! Sweet Lord, no wonder he wears that bulky coat! There'd be horny women tackling him left and right, if he didn't, even with the battle-scars. Hell, the battle-scars would just be a bonus for some."_

"Ria!" Auron barked, finally snapping her out of her reverie.

"What? I'm sorry, what was the question?"

The swordsman let out an exasperated sigh, and said, "Who are Snow and Shadow?"

"Oh! Those are the names I gave the chocobos. Snow is the white one and Shadow is the black one." _"Way to tell it, Doc Obvious! Like he couldn't figure that out on his own, you idiot."_

"The names are rather appropriate," Auron chuckled, setting down his coat.

Ria smiled awkwardly, and then passed him one of the cartons of food she carried. The two of them ate in silence, with her purposely looking everywhere but directly at him, lest she accidentally choke to death or revert to staring at him like an idiot. Apparently, she was a little too obvious about not looking at him, though, because he stopped eating, shoved his ponytail back over his shoulder, and asked, "Are you sure there is nothing wrong?"

"Yes," she squeaked, wincing in embarrassment. "I'm just a little…distracted, that's all." _"Okay, that's probably the understatement of the century, but it can't be helped."_

"Are you sure?"

It was then that Ria noticed the small smile playing on his lips, and realized that he knew why she was so flustered. _"Oh, you sly bastard! Of course you know how you affect women…but I'm not going to act like them and throw myself at you. No, sir!"_

She shook her head, picked up the remote, turned on the TV, and immediately dropped the control in surprise at the news report playing. "…satellite images have shown that a new continent has appeared in the Atlantic Ocean…" the reporter said, as said image played on the screen. "Most believe that this continent is the lost Atlantis from legends, but all attempts to confirm this have failed, since anything approaching the mysterious landmass has vanished without a trace…"

The reported droned on, but neither Ria nor Auron heard him, as they continued staring at the TV as if it had just stood up and danced for them. "That's Spira!" Auron finally managed to say. "That's my homeland!"

"But why the hell is it here?" Ria asked, trying very hard to maintain her composure.

"I don't know, but we'll have to find out."

"We?" Ria asked in confusion.

"You and I can head there, after we find your family," Auron explained.

"Why would you want me to go with you?"

"I promised to help you find someone to train you to use magic, right?" When she nodded, he continued, "If Spira is here, then we should be able to find a Black Mage to teach you what you need to know."

"Right." Ria stood up and turned off the television, and then said, "That sounds like a good idea, but first, we really need to get some sleep."

Auron nodded in agreement, picked up a pillow and blanket, and set them on the floor. "What are you doing?" Ria demanded, staring at the guardian as if he was crazy.

"I'm going to bed," he coolly replied.

"Not on the floor, you're not," the sorceress snapped. "Get up here." Auron actually blushed slightly at that, but before he could protest, Ria added, "Look, it's not fair for me to have the bed all to myself, while you stay on the floor."

"But…"

"No buts, mister. Despite popular belief, it _is_ possible for a man and a woman to sleep together without sex involved. I've slept in the same bed with males and females both, and nothing ever happened then. We aren't lovers, and even if we were, I'm way too tired for those kinds of shenanigans. Get up here and go to sleep already!"

Auron gaped at her for a moment, mostly surprised that she barked orders to him, but climbed into the bed instead of protesting. "Good night, Ria," he said, as she reached over and turned out the light.

"Good night, Auron," she yawned, before falling silent.

Despite how tired he was, Auron couldn't help but lay awake for quite some time, listening to Ria's breathing as it slowed into a sleeper's rhythm. When she rolled over and threw her arm across his stomach, he flinched slightly, and waited to see what she would do. His worries were unfounded, however, as she simply sighed and settled into a deeper sleep. Auron let out a soft growl of exasperation, and thought, _"I think this is going to be a long night. It's not that I don't find her attractive…far from it…but it would only complicate an already complicated situation."_ His thoughts continued in that vein for some time, before he finally gave himself a mental shake, and sighed, both mentally and aloud. _"That's enough. Dwelling on this is not going to change anything, so there is no point in losing sleep over it."_

With that, Auron resolutely rolled over onto his side, facing away from Ria, and scooted away slightly. Once her breasts were no longer pressed against his back, he shut his eye, and concentrated solely on going to sleep, ignoring the hand now resting on his waist. Fortunately, he did not have to wait long for sleep to find him, as he had feared. Weary from the day's events, he dropped off almost as soon as his thoughts stopped circling around himself and Ria.


	6. The Prince

**Author's Note:** Wow, sorry about the lack of updating! Real Life has been interfering in my writing endeavors for a long time now, and I apologize for that, but it cannot be helped.

**Special Thanks:** Huge shout-out to my awesome beta, Marlene, for all her great advice! You rock!

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Final Fantasy X. It belongs to SquareEnix. If I owned it, Auron wouldn't be hiding behind that collar, that's for sure!

* * *

Chapter 6: The Prince

…_Flash…_

Auron stood in a brilliantly lit field full of flowers, and found himself wondering where he was. It looked similar to some parts of the Farplane, but when he looked up at the sky and spotted the endless blue of the living world, instead of an eternal aurora, he knew that he was somewhere different. Confused, but strangely unworried, the swordsman strolled leisurely through the field, enjoying the peacefulness of the scenery, until he realized he was no longer alone. Turning around, Auron saw a pair of figures walking toward him. One was a tall, blond-haired young man of around eighteen with bright blue eyes and an earnest expression on his boyish features, and the other was a knight clad head-to-toe in silver armor that shined in the light like a polished mirror, with a pair of massive, white-feathered wings that almost seemed to glow with diamond radiance. For a long moment, neither the boy nor the knight moved, instead seeming to watch Auron in order to gauge his reaction. "What is going on?" the swordsman demanded, feeling unnerved by their presence.

Instead of replying right away, the blond youth stepped forward, with the knight following behind, and as they did so, a song Auron had not heard in some time drifted softly through the air between them. "The 'Hymn of the Fayth'?" the guardian queried.

"Yeah," the boy replied with a sheepish grin. "Sorry about that, but I'm not quite used to this yet."

"Who are you?" Auron demanded, stepping back when the boy and the knight moved closer. "What is it that you want from me?"

"Me? You'll find out who I am soon enough, but that isn't important at the moment," the youth dismissively replied. "I'm only here now because I need you to do me a favor."

"What favor?"

The boy's already serious expression grew sorrowful. "Ria…" he began, his voice suddenly quiet. "She has some hard times ahead of her, and I'm not sure how she'll handle it. I want you to be there for her."

Auron jaw dropped in surprise at the statement. He liked Ria, but thought it was way too early to entertain any ideas of intimacy. He then blushed furiously and started to reply to that effect, but the young man quickly silenced him with a wave of his hand. "I don't mean that you should be there as a lover, Auron. Hell, she'd probably pop you if you tried anything, anyway! What I mean is that I want you to be there as her friend. God only knows how much she'll need one."

"What's supposed to happen?" the swordsman asked, eyeing the boy suspiciously.

"I'm not allowed to tell you now. Just promise me that you'll stay with her."

Auron was many things, but a heartless bastard was not one of them and upon seeing the boy's pleading expression, he knew that even if he did not like Ria, he would stay, just to help the boy. "I promise."

The boy smiled brightly, and said, "Thank you, Auron, but now it's time for you to wake up…"

…_Flash…_

Auron awoke, and found himself staring up at the ceiling, while Ria slept on her side, her right arm and leg sprawled across him. "What an odd dream," he murmured, as he gently moved Ria's arm off his chest.

Sensing the movement, Ria wriggled around, but did not open her eyes. Instead, she threw her arm across him again, snuggled closer, and buried her face in his shoulder. "Murfle…" she mumbled unintelligibly.

The noise she made was absurd and, he had to admit, a little endearing, and it made him chuckle as he looked down at her. Ria flinched, and she slowly opened her eyes and blinked up at him blearily. "Murfle?" Auron asked, continuing to laugh.

Ria continued blinking up at him for a moment, and then the color slowly drained out of her face as the realization she was currently cuddling her bodyguard finally threaded its way through her sleep-fogged brain. "Oh my God!" she yelped, quickly pulling away from him. "Auron, I'm so sorry! I forgot to mention that I'm a hugger."

"It's all right," he replied, still chuckling.

Ria, now blushing furiously, smiled weakly, and then climbed out of the bed and headed toward their things. "A-anyway…" she stammered, mentally kicking herself as she did so, "We should probably get dressed and pack up so we can get a move on."

…

Nearly fifteen minutes later, Auron and Ria headed out of the door of the King's Hotel, only to find Hank waiting for them with an expression of worry mixed with annoyance. "Oh thank God you two are still here!" he exclaimed, sighing in relief. "I was afraid you might have already left."

"What's wrong?" Ria asked, concerned.

"There's another monster on the loose," the old man wearily sighed.

"I thought the dragon was the last one," Auron testily replied.

"Hey, I thought it was, too!" Hank retorted. Then he sighed again, and added, "I'm sorry…I really thought it was the last one, but apparently another one of the little bastards is hiding out in Wal-Mart. If I had known it was there yesterday, I would've asked y'all to deal with it then, but…"

Auron looked as if he wanted to say no, but when he noticed Ria's pleading expression, he finally relented. "All right. Just tell us where this 'Wall Mark' is, and we'll take care of it."

Hank smiled gratefully at them, led them to his truck, and transported them to the store, whose parking lot was eerily vacant for a weekday. When Ria and Auron climbed out, he told them, "Don't worry, I'll tell that 'All Bed' couple where they can bring your birds and they should be out here waiting for you when you're done." His expression turned grave, and then he said, "Be careful. We tried to get that little whatever the hell it is earlier, but it turned out to be nearly as strong as that dragon. You two seem to know what you're doing though, so you might be able to handle it."

"_Wow, your confidence in us is absolutely staggering,"_ Ria mentally snapped, fighting down the urge to roll her eyes.

She and Auron then turned and entered the Wal-Mart, looking around warily for any sign of immediate danger. Most of the store appeared undamaged, but it was quite evident from the busted shelves, broken merchandise, and the occasional shattered light that a fight had taken place. They crept amongst the aisles in silence, listening carefully for the sounds of whatever had invaded, as well as for any possible trapped survivors. After creeping stealthily through several departments, Ria began to think that the creature may have already left, but since Auron had not made any signs of lowering his guard or wanting to go back, she said nothing and continued to follow his lead. Eventually, however, they made their way over to the dairy department, and it was there that they finally found the "fearsome" fiend.

"Oh wow, it's adorable," Ria cooed softly, looking at the creature with more than a little astonishment.

The fiend was small, with the top of its head maybe reaching Auron's knee, with moss-green skin and wore a grayish-brown monk's robe over its squat body and dusty orange shoes on its rather large feet. The tiny creature apparently sensed that someone was watching it, because it looked up directly at them, its round yellow eyes filled with fear, and it raised the small silver lantern and the oversized kitchen knife it held in its hands in a threatening gesture. "D-don't come any c-closer!" it squeaked in a high-pitched but undeniably male voice. "I don't want to hurt anyone else, but I will if I have to!"

"Auron…what is he?" Ria asked, not taking her eyes off the frightened fiend.

"He's a Tonberry," the swordsman explained, sounding quite surprised himself. "This one's very young, probably the youngest I've ever seen, but he's still very dangerous."

"You're joking, right?" the sorceress scoffed, shooting Auron an incredulous look. She then stepped around him carefully, turned her attention back to the Tonberry, and in a coaxing tone, said, "Come on, little guy. We don't want to hurt you. We just want to talk, that's all."

The Tonberry eyed her warily, but did not move. "Do you promise? You swear you won't try to kill me?"

Ria nodded solemnly. "I swear that I won't try to kill you."

As the little fiend shuffled forward, Auron grabbed Ria's elbow and hissed, "Have you lost your mind?"

Ria gave the guardian a withering glare. "If you don't want me questioning your sanity, then you shouldn't question mine."

Before Auron could make a response, the Tonberry finally made his way to the two of them, and looked up at them fearfully. "Okay, so you're going to keep your promise, right?" he plaintively asked.

Ria immediately nodded, while Auron stared down at the creature with an unreadable expression. Finally, he gave in and sighed, "I promise we won't harm you, but I can make no guarantees about the people of this town."

"Well, I'm not going to let them hurt him," Ria stubbornly proclaimed. "We can bring him with us and get him out of here so no one else has to get hurt." Then her face softened again, and she looked down at the still-cowering Tonberry. "So…what's your name?"

"Bob," the fiend quietly replied.

"It's nice to meet you, Bob. I'm Ria, and my grumpy friend here is Auron. Now, if you'll please follow us, we'll take you out of here."

They turned and started to walk away, but did not go very far before Bob cried, "Could you please slow down? Your legs are a lot longer than mine, so you move a lot faster."

Auron rolled his eye, while Ria turned and headed back to where the rather dejected-looking Tonberry stood. "Here," she began, kneeling down so she did not loom over him. "Why don't I carry you?"

"Why?" Bob warily asked.

"Well, for one thing, we'd move a lot faster that way," the sorceress patiently explained. "And for another, the people living in this town might be less inclined to shoot at you if I'm carrying you and posing no threat."

"That makes sense," the little fiend conceded. He then put his knife away, waddled forward, and raised his arms. "All right, I'm ready to go."

…

After Ria picked up Bob, she and Auron left the store, and met Hank and several other townspeople, all with expressions of dismay at seeing the Tonberry was still alive. "I thought you were gonna kill that damned thing for us!" one man shouted angrily.

"We didn't say we'd kill a kid, though!" Ria snapped, glaring at the man.

Before the argument could escalate, Auron stepped between Ria and the man and said, "I said we would take care of the problem. That did not necessarily mean we would kill something that was only acting in self-defense. Besides, we are taking him with us when we leave, so your problem will still be solved."

Auron did not wait for a response, but started walking forward, with Ria and Bob following immediately behind him. The crowd parted for them, and they found Bakkuri and Keyya waiting for them, along with Snow and Shadow. "Yna oui cina drec ec feca, Sir Auron?" Bakkuri asked. "Ed ec y fiend, yvdan ymm." (Are you sure this is wise, Sir Auron? It is a fiend, after all.)

"Hu, E ys hud, pid ev E dno du cdub ran, cra femm bnupypmo keja sa y cbaalr uh ed paehk dra 'nekrd drehk du tu'," Auron sighed. (No, I am not, but if I try to stop her, she will probably give me a speech on it being the 'right thing to do'.)

"You know, it'd be really nice if you two wouldn't talk about me behind my back like that," Ria irritably complained.

During the two men's conversation, she had mounted Snow, the white chocobo, and decided to let Bob ride with her, as he sat in front of her, looking as if he feared falling off at any moment. Neither Auron nor Bakkuri said anything, instead staring in shock as Snow stood calmly, not seeming to mind that a "dangerous" fiend sat on her back. Ria noticed their expressions, and smirked, "Well, Snow seems to like Bob."

Auron shook his head, but said nothing, instead mounting Shadow, his black chocobo. As Ria and Bob waited for him, Bakkuri's wife, Keyya, crept up to them and pressed a small package into the surprised woman's hands. "Ouin dnyjamc femm pa tyhkanuic, cu bmayca dyga draca yht pa lynavim," the Al Bhed woman explained in response to Ria's confused look. (Your travels will be dangerous, so please take these and be careful.)

Auron and Bakkuri made their way over as the bewildered sorceress opened the package, revealing several Potions and Ethers. "They are a gift," Bakkuri calmly explained. "Keyya and I know how dangerous traveling can be, especially with so many fiends roaming around, so we want you to use these."

Taken aback at such generosity, all Ria could do was stare in wide-eyed amazement at both Al Bhed, until Auron rolled his eye in annoyance, then leaned over and nudged her. "I'm sorry!" she blurted, before catching herself. "I mean…thank you very much. I don't really know how to repay you."

Bakkuri smiled, and replied, "As I said, it is a gift, so there is no need to worry about repayment."

…

Auron and Ria left Discovery that afternoon, with Bob in tow, heading east until it became nearly too dark to see before stopping for the night. Once they set up a small camp, the three of them sat around the fire in relative silence before Auron finally turned to Bob, looked him over before letting his gaze fall on the little fiend's silver lantern, and asked, "Why is the Crown Prince of the Tonberries roaming outside the caves? Won't your father be angry when he finds out you've gone missing?"

"Wait, wait!" Ria interjected, gaping in astonishment. "Bob's a PRINCE?"

The little fiend winced and sheepishly rubbed the back of his head. "Yeah, I am, and I'm sure my dad is having a fit about me disappearing." He paused and sighed before continuing. "As for how I got here…I'm not entirely sure. I mean, one minute I'm exploring a new corridor in the Cavern of the Stolen Fayth, and then there was a flash of light. Next thing I know, I'm in that town, missing my crown, and running for my life from those weirdoes until I ended up in the building where I met you two." Bob sighed again, and drooped dejectedly. "I have no idea how I'm going to get home now, or even where home is in relation to here…this place is just so weird!"

Ria reached out and gently patted the little Tonberry on the shoulder. "Don't worry, Bob," she told him. "Auron and I will help you get back home, I promise."

Auron stared at Ria; an eyebrow raised in surprise, and said, "What about your family?"

The sorceress rolled her eyes and sighed, "I meant after we find my family, Auron." She let out another sigh, this time in disgust, and growled, "Seriously, I know I can be a bit forgetful, but my memory's not so bad that I'd just flat-out abandon them at the first distraction to come along."

The swordsman's expression darkened, though thankfully, it didn't descend into a full glare, and he just looked at her in brooding silence. Ria stared back at him without saying another word, and the tension between them built, until Bob stood up and yawned loudly, startling them both out of their staring contest. "I don't know about you two, but I'm tired, so I think I'll go to sleep now," the little fiend announced, before shuffling over toward where the chocobos lay.

He did not get very far, however, before somehow tripping over his feet and faceplanting into the dirt. "God! Bob, are you okay?" Ria cried, jumping up to help him.

"Yeah…I'm fine," Bob weakly replied, getting up and brushing himself off. "That kind of thing happens a lot, so I'm used to it." He waddled a bit further, plopped down next to Snow and Shadow, and then called out, "Good night."

…

A little while later, Bob and the chocobos slumbered peacefully, while Ria and Auron both remained wide-awake. Both remained silent, but eventually, Ria grew bored and began poking the fire with a long stick, and hummed absentmindedly to herself. Auron remained silent as the fledgling sorceress drifted through a number of tunes, but when she settled on the strange melody from their trip in her car, he flinched as if stricken, and Ria turned to stare at him in bewilderment. "What are you so jumpy about?" she wanted to know, clearly confused by his behavior.

"Nothing," the swordsman tersely replied.

Ria raised an eyebrow and shot him a look of disbelief. "Nothing? If it was 'nothing', you wouldn't be acting like a ghost just appeared and slapped you in the face, so what is it?"

"What business is it of yours?" Auron icily demanded.

Ria's expression hardened, and she snapped, "It's my business whenever my partner keeps freaking out because I hum one little song. Now, spill it: what is it about that song that's got you all bent out of shape?"

"I already told you it does not matter, so why can't you just drop the subject?" he snarled.

Ria flinched a bit at his tone, but refused to back down. "Tell me."

The two of them glared at one another for a long, tense moment, but Auron finally capitulated, and snapped, "That song you keep humming…it is called the Hymn of the Fayth, and it has been sung in my world, on Spira, for the past thousand years. It is a song of defiance corrupted into imprisonment."

Taken aback by the bitter tone in Auron's voice, Ria stammered, "I d-didn't know. I'm sorry, Auron."

The swordsman sighed, and shook his head. "It doesn't matter now. The Fayth were all set free when we defeated Yu Yevon, so none of them are prisoners any longer." He then turned his gaze back to her, and said, "What I don't understand is how you could possibly know that song."

"I already told you; I heard it when I was a kid. I don't remember where, exactly, but I do remember hearing it then. Maybe someone else sang it without knowing what it was, and I just happened to pick it up?"

"And maybe, just maybe, the two of you should be quiet and get some sleep?" Bob interrupted, startling the two of them out of their conversation.

Ria and Auron both turned to look at the Tonberry prince, but before either of them could reply, a cloud of magic swirled around their heads, and the two of them dropped off under the effects of a Sleep spell. "About time," Bob muttered under his breath, before snuggling up against Shadow. "Those two were practically loud enough to wake the dead."


End file.
